Sobriety Under the Sun: Alcoholics Anonymous 7th Annual English Speaking Convention in Puerto Vallarta
Bob Cohen - PVNN

The local English speaking Alcoholics Anonymous Serenity Group will be hosting their 7th annual "Sobriety Under the Sun" AA convention at the NH Krystal Resort on January 23-25, 2009. This year's theme will be "Sunlight of the Spirit". The venue was so popular last year that it was unanimously decided to hold the convention at the Krystal again. Packages for those that wish to stay at the resort are available. Expected to attend are close to 300 recovering alcoholics, most coming from the United States and Canada, along with seasonal visitors and full time local Puerto Vallarta residents. Large speaker meetings, discussion groups, workshops, dinners and social events are all planned for the event.

There will be four main speakers with one from the Alanon program. On the opening night there will be a "Meet and Greet" reception with Hor d'Oeurvres, along with the opening night speakers. On Saturday there will be ongoing meetings and workshops (both AA and Alanon), an open air dinner on the Seven Columns Terrace with the main speaker and music following. Register early, as the dinner always sells out early. Sunday morning concludes the convention with a spiritual breakfast, speaker and AA countdown.

For those lucky enough to be staying longer there is a "Non-Booze Cruise" which was introduced two years ago and has become a favorite among members. This is an opportunity to spend the day at sea cruising to Las Marietas natural preserve, whale watching, then on to the small seaside village of Quimixto, unreachable by land, for an AA meeting on the beach. Breakfast and lunch are included. The cruise will be on Monday, January 26th and will depart the cruise ship terminal at 9:00AM and return at 6:00PM. Seating will be limited to 150, so visit the website at aapvconvention.com, so you can register and not be left ashore.

For more information and registration forms as well as a detailed schedule of events visit the convention website as well at aapvconvention.com and navigate easily through the site to set up your conference itinerary. With the addition of Pay Pal this year it will be easier to register for the conference, the banquets, and other related convention events and to book reservations at the NH Krystal Resort.

Six years ago, a small group of local AA members formed a convention to celebrate their sobriety and invite the rest of the world to join in the celebration. Conventions are common all over the world and the group felt that Puerto Vallarta would be an ideal destination to host a convention. The first in 2002 was actually named "Soberfest 2002" and the name was changed to "Sobriety Under the Sun" the following year and was then sponsored by members of the Serenity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous in Puerto Vallarta.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 by two alcoholics that found that one alcoholic can best help another after repeated trips to hospitals, jails and churches all failed in efforts to help hopeless alcoholics to stop drinking. In 1939, four years later the book Alcoholics Anonymous or the "Big Book", as it is fondly called was released in print. Only 100 recovering alcoholics were members at the time and the first 164 pages of the book have remained unchanged. Currently, millions of once suffering alcoholics worldwide are now members and enjoy freedom without alcohol, and leading productive lives. Alcoholics Anonymous is known as perhaps the greatest movement of the 20th century that helps individuals at no cost. All groups are self supporting through meeting contributions.

In 2005 the last international world convention was held in Toronto to celebrate AA's 70 year anniversary and upwards of 70,000 people from around the world were in attendance. AA is currently found in almost every country in the world and the "Big Book" has been translated in almost every language.

The 75th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous will be celebrated in San Antonio, Texas at its international convention to be held on July 1st - 4th, 2010, with the theme being "A Vision for You".

Strange, but true, in Mexico the first group was an English speaking group formed by ex-pats in 1946, and it took ten more years before a Spanish speaking group surfaced. The success and growth in Mexico was phenomenal, currently with close to 20,000 groups in existence. According to a local AA member in Puerto Vallarta, who is anonymous in accordance with the spiritual principles of the program, the first group sprung up in 1966 in Gringo Gulch and met in rotating homes. Twenty years later in October of 1986, The Puerto Vallarta Alano Club opened its doors and became home to the AA Serenity Group which meets twice daily (9am and 6:30 pm) as well as other 12th step support groups.

The website for information and registration is aapvconvention.com. From this site one can register online and choose from different packages or email for more information. Registration this year can be made much easier with the addition of Pay Pal. For additional information, one can call Cal F. in the U.S. at 510-774-5559 or in Mexico at 011-52-322-223-9775. The most important thing is that nobody makes any profits or gets paid as AA service is a major component in staying sober. Any extra monies are forwarded to AA service groups to further assist others in their recovery efforts.

The weather is generally in the low 80's and sunny in January and dips to a frigid 65 degrees at night, thus the origination of the convention name. Most people extend their visit to a week or more to enjoy the paradise and charm of Puerto Vallarta. Come join the international group of wonderful people that have one common purpose; to get sober, stay sober and enjoy life without the use of alcohol.